Q: What is Cisco Unified Computing System?
Ans: Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS) unites physical and virtual computational and network resources into a single system.
UCS is a set of pre-integrated data center components that comprises blade servers, adapters,
fabric interconnects, and extenders that are integrated under a common embedded management system.
This approach results in far fewer system components than comparable data center platforms.
Q. what is Unified ports
Ans: Unified ports are ports on the 6200 series fabric interconnect that can be configured to carry either Ethernet or Fibre Channel traffic.
These ports are not reserved. They cannot be used by a Cisco UCS domain until you configure them.
Q. Is server port can be configured on expansion and fixed module
Ans: Server port cannot be configured on expansion module but can be done on fixed module
Q. Is uplink can be configured on fixed and expansion module
Ans: uplink can be configured on fixed and expansion modle
Q. How to upload firmware/upgrading install in FI
Ans: Equipment-->Firmware management-->Installed firmware-->Download firmware
1.chassis-->I/O modules and blades (CIMC,BIOS,Adapters)
2.FI --> kernel and system
3.Rack mount server--> Servers (CIMC,BIOS,Adapters)
Q. How to configure CIMC in C-series.
Ans: Reboot the server and press F8 which prompts to the CIMC configuration where config nic redundancy, IP config and password for CIMC and press F10 for save and reload the server.
Q. How to download techsupport files
Ans: Admin-->ALL-->Faults,Events and Audit logs-->R-click on Tech support files--> select create and download tech support files(UCSM,UCSM-mgmt,Chassis, FEX,Rackserver)
Q. How chassis discovery done on the FI
Ans: Equipment-->Policies-->global policies-->Chassis discovery policy(1,2,4,8,max)
Q. what is Scrub policy and its types
Ans: scrub policy is applied when there is a diassociation in service profile there should not be going any changes made on the hardware
it has DISK and BIOS settings, No for to remain the settings and YES for erase.
Q. what is maintenance policy and how it works
Ans: Maintenance policy is done for any hardware changes or any upgradation done on the hardware for reloading the device.
They are of three types
1.User Ack,
2.Timer
3.Immediate
Q. what is service profile template and its types
Ans: Initial template and Updating Template
Initial: no change can be done after creating or linked or bind to service profile
Updating: changes can be done to updating template even it is bind to service profile for any changes to template
Q. How to configure backup in a FI
Ans: Admin tab-->select All(left plane)-->select backup configuration(right plane)
Q. How to import configuration on FI
Ans: Admin tab-->select All(left plane)-->select Import configuration(right plane)
Q. Steps involved in configuring port-channel in FI.
Ans:
R-click on FI-->select connect to LAN manager-->select Create Port Channel-->Select Fabric A/B-->type port channel name-->add ports to Right plane
Q. Command to check the System uptime, NX-OS version in FI
Ans:
FI-A(nxos)# show system uptime
System start time: Fri Jul 24 01:07:24 2015
System uptime: 235 days, 9 hours, 53 minutes, 18 seconds
Kernel uptime: 235 days, 10 hours, 55 minutes, 51 seconds
Active supervisor uptime: 235 days, 9 hours, 53 minutes, 18 seconds
FI-A(nxos)# show Version
Q. where to configure CIMC ip for blades in FI
Ans:
1.None—No management IP address is assigned to the service profile. The management IP address is set based on the CIMC management IP address settings on the server.
2.Static—A static management IP address is assigned to the service profile, based on the information entered in this area.
3.Pooled—A management IP address is assigned to the service profile from the management IP address pool.
Step 1 In the Navigation pane, click the Equipment tab.
Step 2 On the Equipment tab, expand Equipment > Chassis > Chassis Number > Servers.
Step 3 Click the server for which you want to configure an IP address.
Step 4 In the Work pane, click the Inventory tab.
Step 5 Click the CIMC subtab.
Step 6 In the Actions area, click Create/Modify Static Management IP
Q. how to change FI primary to sub-ordinate and viceversa
Ans:
Process to failover
1. Login to the primary 6120 via the UCS cluster IP address.
2. Verify the current primary 6120 in the cluster.
3. Enter local management on the primary via “connect local-mgmt” command.
4. Issue the “cluster lead x” command to make the subordinate switch become the primary. Replace “x” with the correct switch letter.
5. Verify that the role has changed on the previously subordinate switch by SSH’ing into it and issuing the “show cluster state” command.
The switch show now show up as the primary.
1. from FI-B to FI-A
UCS-B# connect local-mgmt b
UCS-B(local-mgmt)# cluster lead a
2. from FI-A to FI-B
UCS-A# connect local-mgmt b
UCS-B(local-mgmt)# cluster lead b
Q. Modes in FI
Ans:
adapter Mezzanine Adapter
cimc Cisco Integrated Management Controller
clp Connect to DMTF CLP
iom IO Module
local-mgmt Connect to Local Management CLI
nxos Connect to NXOS CLI
Scope Connect to Chassis/Blade/IOM
Q: What is UCS Express?
Ans: UCS express is compact, all-in-one computing and networking system targeted at branch offices.
UCS express is build on the concept of lean branch office which reduces the branch-office infrastructure footprint,
equipment and operating costs, and management complexity.
Main components of UCS express are ISR Generation2 series router and Services Ready Engine (SRE) multipurpose x86 blade servers.
Cisco ISR G2 functions as a blade-server enclosure for SRE blade servers, which in themselves run branch office applications like DNS, DHCP, etc.
The system comes with VMware vSphere Hypervisor for virtualization and CIMC Express for blade server management.
Q. difference between expansion module and fixed module.
Ans: Fixed module are the ports which comes in the device
Expansion Module are the ports which can be extended via expansion slots available on the device which may be FC or FCOE ports.
Q. what is UUID pool, UUID pool is for for blades
Ans: The UUID is a 128-bit number (32 hex digits, 16 groups of 2 hex digits). It is supposed to uniquely identify a component worldwide.
UUID pool UUID is a 128-bit number assigned to every compute node on a network to identify the compute node globally.
Q. Pre-requisites for upgrading FI
Ans:
Review the Release Notes.
Review the relevant Hardware and Software Interoperability Matrix to ensure the operating systems on all servers
Back up the configuration into an All Configuration backup file.
For a cluster configuration, verify that the high availability status of the fabric interconnects shows that both are up and running.
For a standalone configuration, verify that the Overall Status of the fabric interconnect is Operable.
Verify that the data path is up and running.
Verify that all servers, I/O modules, and adapters are fully functional.
Verify that the Cisco UCS domain does not include any critical or major faults.
Verify that all servers have been discovered.
Q. What is callhomed and its use?
Ans: Call Home provides an email-based notification for critical system policies.
The Call Home feature can deliver alert messages containing information about diagnostics and environmental faults and events.
The Call Home feature can deliver alerts to multiple recipients, referred to as Call Home destination profiles.
Q. what is Service profile and its use
Ans: A service profile is a software definition of a server and its LAN and SAN network connectivity, in other words, a service profile defines a single server and its storage and networking characteristics. Service profiles are stored in the Cisco UCS 6100 Series Fabric Interconnects.
Q: What are UCS E-series servers?
Ans: UCS E-Series Server modules are next-generation, power-optimized, x86, Intel® Xeon® 64-bit blade servers designed to be deployed in Cisco Integrated Services Routers Generation 2 (ISR G2).
Q. What is a vPC and its use?
Ans: A virtual PortChannel (vPC) allows links that are physically connected to two different Cisco Nexus™ 5000 Series devices to appear as a single PortChannel to a third device. The third device can be a Cisco Nexus 2000 Series Fabric Extender or a switch, server, or any other networking device.
Q. How password reset can be done on FI
Ans: If you have forgotten the password, you can set a new password. Connect to the console of UCS 6100 series fabric interconnect.
Reload the fabric interconnect and when it boots up hit ctrl+L or ctrl+shift+R to go to loader prompt then boot the kickstart image;
if you have two fabric interconnects connected in HA then first reload the subordinate fabric interconnect and bring it in loader prompt
and then reload the primary and bring it in loader prompt, after this load kickstart image on primary.
Configure the admin password using "admin-password" command by going to config terminal mode.
Now load the system image on the fabric interconnect or if you have HA load system image on the primary fabric interconnect.
The password is now set to the new password you have just configured; if you have HA then now you can load the kickstart and system images
on the subordinate fabric interconnect.
Q: What is the maximum number of user sessions supported on UCS?
Ans: The maximum number of users that can be created on UCS is 48, this includes any kind of user.
The maximum number of GUI sessions (accessing UCS manager via http) supported is 256.
The maximum number of CLI sessions (telnet and SSH combined) supported is 32. Remember that CLI and GUI sessions are treated as separate;
hence you can have at the max 256 GUI sessions and 32 CLI sessions at the same time.
Q. How to configure FI
Ans:
Step 1 Connect to the console port.
Step 2 Power on the fabric interconnect. You will see the power on self-test messages as the fabric interconnect boots.
Step 3 At the installation method prompt, enter gui.
Step 4 If the system cannot access a DHCP server, you are prompted to enter the following information:
IP address for the management port on the fabric interconnect
Subnet mask for the management port on the fabric interconnect
IP address for the default gateway assigned to the fabric interconnect
Step 5 Copy the web link from the prompt into a supported web browser and go to the Cisco UCS Manager GUI launch page.
Step 6 On the Cisco UCS Manager GUI launch page, select Express Setup.
Step 7 On the Express Setup page, select Initial Setup and click Submit.
Step 8 In the Cluster and Fabric Setup Area, select the Standalone Mode option.
Step 9 In the System Setup Area, enter the details of System Name field,Admin Password field,Confirm Admin Password field,Mgmt IP Address field,Mgmt IP Netmask field,Default Gateway field,DNS Server IP field,Domain Name field.
Step 10 Click Submit.
Q: From where to download OS patches and drivers?
Ans: You should download OS patches from the respective vendors. Drivers that are not part of OS and supplied by Cisco can be downloaded from cisco.com.
Q: Can I use a Nexus 5000 as a UCS 6100 fabric interconnect?
Ans: No, Nexus 5000 is a general purpose L2 switch and UCS 6100 series is an integral part of the unified computing system. The software that runs on the UCS 6100 is different from the Nexus 5000, as the UCS 6100 has both control and management planes.
